Biggest Similarities and Differences Between CFB and NFL Training Camps

"Click, clack." It's the sound of cleats walking down the tunnel and pads hitting one another. Camps are underway, which means within the next month or so, football—at the college and pro level—will be back. 

Preseason camp and training camp mark those final practices before teams get to take out their aggression on someone else. In that way, they're a lot alike.

But they're also different in some aspects and represent the separation between a pro sport and a (supposedly) amateur one. 

Exactly how are college fall camps and NFL training camps different? How are they similar? Bleacher Report asked FanDuel's Michael Schottey, B/R's Matt Bowen, FootballScoop boss Scott Roussel and Scout.com reporter Josh Webb to weigh in. 

What we discovered is that while the goals of preseason and training camps are the same, the expectations and processes to achieve those goals are different. 

Similarity: Maximize the Reps

The season is right around the corner. There's no time to waste on empty reps that help one player but don't help another. This is true at the college and pro levels. "If you go to a coaching clinic, 90 percent of what they talk about is maximizing reps," said Schottey. "Why throw a football to a coach or into a net when you can throw it to a receiver who needs reps too?"

So often coaches talk about repetition in practice, even if the playbook isn't that complicated. It's the only way to drive home concepts and develop team chemistry. Do something long enough, and eventually players are executing and not thinking. 

But reps are also important in the right hands. "In the first week, everyone gets reps," Bowen said. "After that, you're preparing for the season so you want to get your first-team guys the most reps." 

The emergence of spring practices and OTAs, along with the reduction in two-a-days, has taken away the opportunities for evaluation in fall camps. As such, coaches are spending more time teaching players away from the field. 

Joe Raymond/Associated Press

"There's so much learning in the 'classroom' now," added Roussel. "When we talk about the classroom, we mean meeting rooms. The NCAA has been more relaxed recently, allowing more hands-on teaching in the offseason."

With the emergence of what Roussel calls "e-learning"—the use of iPads and other technology—players can use more practice time to run through concepts they learned in meetings. Meanwhile, the actual process of learning what to do and what not to do is covered during film sessions. 

Practices are limited, far more than film study. In a coach's eyes, practices are all about executing. The real learning process takes place elsewhere. 

Difference: Reinforcing vs. Teaching

However, on the subject of learning plays and concepts, there is a difference between the NFL and college football. In the NFL, there's an expectation that players arrive at training camp ready to hit the ground running. Some terminology may be different, especially for new players who have been traded from another team or signed in free agency, but those players must have at least a working knowledge of what's happening (not to mention the ability to adjust quickly). 

"In training camp, the learning process is more about reinforcing than teaching," Schottey explained. "Guys in college aren't professionals. They have other things to do. They have a calculus class to study for." 

With new freshmen and a roster that has experienced more turnover, college football's learning process is more about bringing everyone back up to speed. "Coaches start with the very basics, the bread and butter," Webb said. "Then they figure out who is separating themselves, who's executing the plays they just learned in meetings.

"Keep in mind, too, that executing doesn't necessarily mean completing the play." 

There are as many different ways to run a preseason camp as there are coaching staffs. As Webb noted in his interview with B/R, Fresno State head coach Tim DeRuyter and USC coach Steve Sarkisian are more "players' coaches," whereas Nick Saban at Alabama runs things in a more business fashion. 

However a preseason camp is run, though, coaches are committed to the players they have. There's no whittling down process like in NFL training camps. Therefore, it's up to the college coaches to make sure as many players are up to speed as possible. 

Easily, the biggest difference between college and the pros is the job security associated with player development. "In college, if a kid has three, four, five bad days in camp, he gets redshirted," Bowen said. "In the NFL, three, four, five bad days means you're out of a job." 

Similarity: Establish Depth

There will always be position battles in preseason and training camp. One of the benefits of competition is that it's a team-building exercise that brings out the best in players. But, if a team is fortunate, it will have many of the same coaches and starters returning from the previous year. 

Stability is a luxury in football because it's so rare. In the pros, players come and go all the time for various reasons. Coaches get hired and fired quickly, or leave for other opportunities. In college, upperclassmen graduate or move on to the NFL; others drop out because of off-field issues or academics. 

Gus Ruelas/Associated Press

If a team is fortunate enough to have stability, the competition shifts to establishing more depth. That term can have a couple of different meanings. Yes, depth can refer to the sheer number of available bodies. It can also refer to the number of players who can contribute in a meaningful way. This is especially pertinent for the NFL, which allows a game-day roster of 46 players. 

"A lot of time is spent developing the No. 2s," said Roussel, referring to a team's backups. "The wide receivers coach is working a lot with the No. 3 and No. 4 guy. On the offensive line, you need a sixth and seventh guy who can step in and play, because that line probably isn't going to stay healthy."

"You can't go into the season with two defensive linemen; you need a No. 3 and a No. 4 ready to play."

Webb agreed. "Ideally, coaches have a pretty good idea already of who could be on the two-deep," he said.

Difference: Conditioning

Ask any college coach who their most important assistant is, and chances are they'll tell you it's their strength and conditioning director. These are the coaches, after all, who are with players during offseason workouts, from the winter to the summer. 

For Texas, strength coach Pat Moorer is the one responsible for getting freshman linebacker Malik Jefferson, who is expected to be a big contributor in 2015, up to 240 pounds. Jefferson's 247Sports high school recruiting profile listed him at 215 pounds. 

In other words, college players are, by and large, far more dependent on the strength coach to get the proper conditioning, whether that means adding weight, losing weight or getting faster. 

"The conditioning curve is bigger in college," Schottey said. "In the NFL, when you hear a player is missing voluntary workouts because of a contract dispute or something, it's not that big of a deal because he's volunteering not to be there. As long as he shows up in shape for training camp, he's fine."

That's not to say NFL players aren't coached up in strength and conditioning, but like the mental aspect of the game, most are ready to hit training camp at full speed. In college, there's more of an adjustment period, however small it may be. 

As Bowen put it, freshmen need the most help in college because, put simply, their bodies are still developing. The jump from high school to college can also be steep. As Roussel noted, "It's hard for them. Most freshmen who aren't expected to be major contributors probably aren't put through the same types of rigors of preseason camp as those who are expected to contribute right away." 

In that regard, college football's preseason camps involve a wider variety of players and approaches. Not everyone is operating at the same speed, and it's up to the coaching staff to get them there. In the NFL, a player can't afford to fall behind. The expectation is that they're ready to go with minimal touch-ups. Otherwise, they're out of a job. 

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.